HRD RADIO REPORT
The HRD Radio Report showcases the weekly Active Rock Mediabase Charts (compiled by AllAccess.com), and appears every Tuesday on HardRockDaddy.com. The HRD Radio Report digs deeper into the weekly Active Rock charts, providing commentary, reviews, recommendations and predictions. It also features opinion pieces on chart action and the music business in general.
Many of the artists featured on the Active Rock charts have already been reviewed on HardRockDaddy.com.
Click on the hyperlinked song titles to read song reviews, and the hyperlinked artist names to read album reviews.
2016 Active Rock Radio / Octane Quarterly Report: Q1
The following is the Active Rock Mediabase Chart for the week ending 5/7/16. All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:
| CHART | CHART | ARTIST | SONG TITLE | RADIO |
| POSITION | POSITION | SPINS | ||
| THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK | THIS WEEK | ||
| 1 | 3 | VOLBEAT | “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” | 1916 |
| 2 | 1 | RED SUN RISING | “Emotionless” | 1807 |
| 3 | 2 | BRING ME THE HORIZON | “Happy Song” | 1728 |
| 4 | 4 | FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH | “My Nemesis” | 1724 |
| 5 | 6 | SIXX: A.M. | “Rise” | 1546 |
| 6 | 5 | DISTURBED | “The Sound Of Silence” | 1458 |
| 7 | 7 | PAPA ROACH | “Falling Apart” | 1217 |
| 8 | 8 | DEFTONES | “Prayers/Triangles” | 1043 |
| 9 | 11 | GHOST | “From The Pinnacle To The Pit” | 932 |
| 10 | 16 | SHINEDOWN | “Asking For It” | 898 |
| 11 | 12 | HALESTORM | “Mayhem” | 882 |
| 12 | 13 | HELLYEAH | “Human” | 840 |
| 13 | 9 | 3 DOORS DOWN | “In The Dark” | 736 |
| 14 | 15 | A DAY TO REMEMBER | “Paranoia” | 689 |
| 15 | 18 | SICK PUPPIES | “Stick To Your Guns” | 662 |
| 16 | 17 | FOALS | “Mountain At My Gates” | 625 |
| 17 | 19 | ASKING ALEXANDRIA | “Here I Am” | 614 |
| 18 | 20 | DEVOUR THE DAY | “Lightning In The Sky” | 512 |
| 19 | 14 | ADELITA’S WAY | “Bad Reputation” | 499 |
| 20 | 0 | RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS | “Dark Necessities” | 466 |
| 21 | 22 | KALEO | “No Good” | 461 |
| 22 | 23 | ROB ZOMBIE | “Get High” | 446 |
| 23 | 21 | KILLSWITCH ENGAGE | “Hate By Design” | 434 |
| 24 | 31 | POP EVIL | “Take It All” | 425 |
| 25 | 27 | MONSTER TRUCK | “Don’t Tell Me How To Live” | 322 |
| 26 | 24 | CHEAP TRICK | “When I Wake Up” | 321 |
| 27 | 25 | THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH | “Running With Giants” | 316 |
| 28 | 26 | AVATAR | “The Eagle Has Landed” | 314 |
| 29 | 28 | BLACK STONE CHERRY | “In Our Dreams” | 271 |
| 30 | 32 | SEVENDUST | “Death Dance” | 263 |
| 31 | 33 | TWENTY ONE PILOTS | “Ride” | 261 |
| 32 | 34 | HOLY WHITE HOUNDS | “Switchblade” | 259 |
| 33 | 29 | THROUGH FIRE | “Stronger” | 244 |
| 34 | 35 | CHRIS CORNELL | “Nothing Compares 2 U” | 210 |
| 35 | 30 | BARONESS | “Shock Me” | 203 |
| 36 | 42 | TRIVIUM | “Dead And Gone” | 188 |
| 37 | 61 | BLINK 182 | “Bored To Death” | 180 |
| 38 | 39 | LIKE A STORM | “Break Free” | 176 |
| 39 | 37 | CANDLEBOX | “Vexatious” | 171 |
| 40 | 46 | ESCAPE THE FATE | “Remember Every Scar” | 165 |
| 41 | 50 | BREAKING BENJAMIN | “Ashes Of Eden” | 158 |
| 42 | 38 | SMASHING SATELLITES | “Gamblin’ Man” | 154 |
| 43 | 43 | TREMONTI | “Dust” | 152 |
| 44 | 41 | ONE LESS REASON | “Where Were You?” | 147 |
| 45 | 49 | BEARTOOTH | “Aggressive” | 143 |
| 46 | 44 | SUNFLOWER DEAD | “It’s Time To Get Weird” | 143 |
| 47 | 48 | OTEP | “In Cold Blood” | 124 |
| 48 | 45 | RIVAL CITY HEIGHTS | “Take It Back” | 109 |
| 49 | 47 | HANDS LIKE HOUSES | “Colourblind” | 97 |
| 50 | 54 | DOROTHY | “Raise Hell” | 92 |
PREDICTIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND CHART MUSINGS (by Adam Waldman)
When Volbeat’s latest single, “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown,” was the pick of the week on the 4/9/16 HRD Radio Report, I made the following prediction…
“Debuting at #25 this week makes it a virtual lock to hit the top 10 sooner, rather than later. Top 10, however, is the only tip of the iceberg. I’d be shocked if this song doesn’t hit #1 within the next month or so. It’s that good!”
A month later, the prediction has come true. This is one of the occasions where Active Rock programmers got it right. That’s the good news. Now for the bad news…
Anthrax’s “Breathing Lightning” dropped off of the chart this week. One of their best songs in recent years (and one of the best in Active Rock this year), the song fizzled out after peaking at #32. It’s a respectable showing, but one not nearly befitting of the quality of the song. Not all songs reach their deserved potential, but the drop-off this week is magnified by the fact that two songs entered the chart that have no business on Active Rock radio.
With all due respect to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blink 182, neither of their recent singles is even remotely close to being “active rock.” This is not to say that they don’t have their place on radio, just not in this format, and certainly not at the expense of a song like “Breathing Lightning.”
PUBLISHER’S PICK OF THE WEEK (by Adam Waldman)
AVATAR – “The Eagle Has Landed”
Isolated from their concept album (Feathers & Flesh) which is dropping on May 13th, the lyrics to “The Eagle Has Landed” lack context, but it doesn’t matter. If the purpose of a single is to create intrigue about an album and artist, this song certainly accomplishes its goal. The tone of the song is a bit schizophrenic, with verses that can best be described as aggressive and a hook in the melodic chorus that is infectiously catchy. While the chorus has an upbeat, carnival-esque feel to it, there is an underlying touch of evil that makes it feel like you’ve entered a three-ring circus of madness. Avatar is quickly becoming one of the most theatrical bands in the hard rock genre lyrically, musically and with their distinct image. Unlike most, they’ve managed to straddle the fence between being incredibly unique and simultaneously “radio-friendly.” This is no easy feat to pull off given the state of radio today. It’s not surprising that “The Eagle Has Landed” is already gaining traction on Active Rock radio. The only question that remains is how high this eagle will fly.
HRD SPIN CONTROL (by Adam Waldman and Jon Loveless)
Each week, we will share the songs that we think should be added to rotations, alongside the songs that we feel should be dropped from rotations, either because they are a bad fit for the format, or because they have run their course and it’s time for a new single from the artist.
SPIN IT…
UGLY MELON – “Dead Or Alive”
DEVOUR THE DAY – “R.O.A.R.”
SONS OF TEXAS – “Blameshift”
HUDSON – “Cast Out”
FIFTYWATT FREIGHT TRAIN – “Whiskey & Hate”
SEPTEMBER MOURNING – “Eye Of The Storm”
EVANS BLUE – “iGod”
DROP IT…
Holy White Hounds – “Switchblade”
Foals – “Mountain At My Gates”
Twenty One Pilots – “Ride”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dark Necessities”
Blink 182 – “Bored To Death”
Adelita’s Way – “Bad Reputation”
Deftones – “Prayers/Triangles”
THE BREAKDOWN by Jon Loveless
KING OF THE HILL
One of the hottest songs out of the starting gate in recent memory now sits atop the Mediabase Active Rock Airplay Chart, as Volbeat takes over at #1 with “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown.” Red Sun Rising is pushed back to #2, while Bring Me The Horizon barely held off Five Finger Death Punch for #3.
NOTABLE CHART MOVEMENT
Ghost and Shinedown both break into the Top 10 this week…
The only new arrival in the Top 20 is also the week’s highest debuting song, as the Red Hot Chili Peppers return to the airwaves after an extended absence…
Pop Evil easily breaks into the Top 30 after a strong debut the week before, joined by Sevendust in that tier…
Three songs reach the Top 40, including the latest from Trivium, which moved up nicely…
Dorothy will “Raise Hell” after the chart debut of a song that first showed signs of airplay just before Halloween last year.
THREE UP & THREE DOWN
MOVING UP
Volbeat – “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”
Shinedown – “Asking For It”
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Dark Necessities”
DROPPING DOWN
Disturbed – “The Sound Of Silence”
Deftones – “Prayers/Triangles”
3 Doors Down – “In The Dark”
TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS
An impressive ascension for Volbeat, the quickest song to #1 after debuting since last July when Shinedown got there with “Cut The Cord” in its fourth week. The band isn’t a stranger to rapid success, having cracked the Top 10 within a month of debuting for two of their previous singles, but this is definitely their strongest showing with radio to date. Red Sun Rising can’t be too disappointed with their relatively short stay at the top; it doubles the one-week run enjoyed by their debut single. They’ve now scored back to back #1s with their first two singles. In an era where it is usually established artists that fare so well, their success is even more impressive.
WRAP-UP
That’s all for this week. Tune in to HardRockDaddy.com every Tuesday for the HRD Radio Report. \m/
Leave a Reply